Plot Synopsis: A quantum filament disables the Enterprise, leaving Counselor Troi in command on the bridge, and various groups on different parts of the ship facing perils alone.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser does everything a teaser should: sets up enough of the coming story to give us a taste, and invites the audience to come back to see what happens–it even kills off a red shirt! Plot A involves intertwining the separate stories of survival on the Enterprise after they hit a couple of quantum filaments, there is no plot B. Technically there are subplots B – F, one could look at it either way. There are five separate plot threads: Troi in command on the bridge (and dealing with Ro), a wounded Picard with children in a turbolift, Worf in charge of the Enterprise wounded in Ten Forward (and Keiko, who goes into labor), Geordi and Beverly dealing with a plasma fire that will kill them in a couple of ways, and Riker and Data trying to get to the bridge. Each plot thread is interesting, well-paced and contributes to the episode as a whole.
Favorite Scenes: There are quite a few memorable lines in this episode. One of my favorite moments is Picard’s wink at the end of the episode, for the others I’ll just give some snippets:
Picard *in the turbolift, yelling at the kids*: …so I want you all to stop crying, everything is going to be alright! *the kids start sobbing harder*
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Riker *talking to Data*: Let me get this straight. You want me to take off your head?
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Keiko: I’m going into labor.
Worf: You cannot. This is not a good time, Keiko!
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Ro *disagreeing with Troi’s decision*: I remind you, counselor. That power coupling could overheat at any moment. By not separating the ship now, you could be responsible for all our deaths.
Troi *responding with a steady gaze*: Thank you, ensign. Proceed.
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Worf: Congratulations, you are fully dilated to 10 centimeters. You may now give birth.
Worf *a couple seconds later*: The computer simulation was not like this. That delivery was very orderly.
Keiko *yells*: Well, I’m sorry!
Use of Cast/Characters: This is a good example of placing characters out of their comfort zones, a “fish out of water” disaster episode. Picard having to work with his least favorite people, Troi being in command, Worf helping deliver a baby, it all works marvelously. I wouldn’t say Beverly, Geordi, Data or Riker are necessarily “out of water” but their plot threads still deliver real tension, as well as humor. If I were to single anyone out for character development it would be Troi, who gets a meatier role than usual, and will lead to another episode (Thine Own Self) where she decides to qualify as a Bridge command officer. It’s nice to see Michelle Forbes back as Ensign Ro, doing her thing. Some have complained her apologizing at the end meant she lost her ‘edge’ as a character, but I’ve always thought it showed she has the strength of character to acknowledge when she’s wrong. Even the child actors do a good job!
Blu Ray Version: The plasma fire effect was redone well for this version. The resolution is so clear you can see holes in Marissa’s collar at around 14:30, before Picard pins his pips on her. We can also see the tape mark on the floor of the turbolift when Picard is on the floor at 22:53–couldn’t they have digitally wiped it?
Nitpicks: A “quantum filament”? Really?? This is an instance of a menace being somewhat lazily made up. In fact the writers must’ve been afraid it was so reminiscent of another generic threat that they had Troi get it confused with a “cosmic string fragment” (from The Loss) so O’Brien has to tell the audience that it’s a different phenomenon. How exactly is it different? Who knows, it’s just different!
Overall Impression: This is an episode that works on all levels for me. It works as a disaster episode, a “fish out of water” episode, a character-centered episode and a fun episode all at the same time. Picard and the kids, Riker carrying Data’s head around, Troi in command on the bridge, Geordi and Beverly trying to survive, and Worf delivering Keiko’s baby are all wonderful little vignettes. This isn’t in the top tier of TNG episodes, but for me it earns a solid 4 out of 5 stars rating.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: We learn in this episode that Deanna Troi carries the rank of Lieutenant Commander…at least I think this is the first time we learn that? According to Ron Moore: “Disaster is literally our disaster-movie homage.” Ever seen the original Poseidon Adventure? Airport? The Towering Inferno? Titanic? If not you should (even Titanic), they’re fun to watch and the kind of films that this episode is attempting to imitate.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman fans may recognize Marissa as the actress Erika Flores, who portrayed Colleen Cooper on that show for the first three seasons. John Christian Graas, who portrayed Jay Gordon also appeared in Kindergarten Cop. Evidently the idea of having Ro and O’Brien working together was due to the fact they were both planned to transfer to DS9 and the producers wanted to see how well the two characters worked together. Notably, this was the last episode aired before Gene Roddenberry’s death on October 24th, 1991. This is also the last time in the entire series when the saucer-separating capability of the Enterprise is mentioned; it won’t be referenced again until the Generations movie. I think that’s a shame.
For those interested, Dan Curry explains a special effect. The disaster scene with Geordi was done by making miniature barrels. Dan Curry: “Instead of blowing them out with air, we actually shot straight down and held them on little pins on a piece of miniature floor, pulled all the pins out which then dropped the barrels, and they fell away against a blue screen. By shooting it at a very high frame rate it gave them their proper scale and size…the plasma fire was actually a clear glass tray with hot water and little granules of dry ice in it…we could light it from the back.”
Missable/Unmissable? It is missable, however it is recommended viewing, it’s worth your time. The next one is a bit of a step down, despite the very high nostalgia factor.